What Makes an ERP Implementation Relationship Worthwhile - Gefen(2004) JMIS

Introduction

1. TRUST IS THE BELIEF THAT OTHERS UPON WHOM ONE DEPENDS, yet has little control over, will not take advantage of the situation by behaving in an opportunistic manner but, rather, will fulfill their expected commitments  by behaving ethically, dependably, and fairly, especially under conditions involving risk and potential loss .

2. trust is "an expectancy held by an individual or a group that the word, promise, verbal or written statement of another
individual or group can be relied on" [80, p. 444], and in proving reliable will substantiate the willingness of the trusting party to depend on the other individual or group.

3. Trust is generally crucial in business and social interactions that are characterized by a dependency on another party combined with a lack of control over that party

4. The vast stakes involved for the clients only magnify the importance of this trust. Indeed, in other cases of reliance  upon another party for the successful implementation of an informationtechnology (IT), it has been suggested, albeit not empirically examined, that client trust is a major issue determining implementation success.

5. Accordingly, the first objective of this study is to examine trust-building modes that may apply during the implementation of an IT system that requires vendor support, such as an ERP.

6. These trust-building modes are examined within the context of Zucker's [98] theory that trust in business relationships is created through process-based, institution-based, and characteristic-based mechanisms.

Trust Model

7. TRUST CATERS TO PEOPLE'S BASIC NEED to predict, understand, and try to control their social environment and, in doing so, to foresee what other people will do and how their own actions will affect the behavior of others.

8. When rules and customs are insufficient, people rely on trust as a social uncertainty reduction method. That is, they allow themselves to rule out the possibility that trusted others might behave in undesirable manners

9. In attempting to define the precise meaning of trust, research has dealt with trust either as a set of specific beliefs dealing with the integrity, ability, and benevolence of the trusted party, or as a general belief thatthe trusted party can
be trusted, or a mixture of both.

10. Apart from reducing social uncertainty and transaction costs in business interactions, trust in business relationships can create a "special" relationship, the kind of relationship that becomes a desirable objective in its own right, a relationship based on loyalty that goes beyond the typical business objective of short-term profit. This special relationship is commonly characterized by interorganizational partnerships, by cooperative interactions, and by reduced monitoring and a lesser reliance on detailed legal contracts.

11. How tben can this trust be built? Zucker, examining the American economy between 1840 and 1920, suggested that there are three general modes of trust production in an economic environment: process-based, characteristic-based, and institution-based.

12. In the process-based mode, trust is created as a product of the exchange itself by the creation of a good track record. trust is built through the constructive nature of the ongoing relationship, primarily tbrough the investment that the
trusted party makes in the relationship, wbich is usually related to previous behavior that was in accordance with the trusting party's favorable expectation and to instances where the trusted party had the opportunity to take advantage
ofthe situation, but refrained from doing so.

13. Characteristic-based trust deals with similarity in issues such as culture, gender, and race. Zucker hypothesized that this kind of mode should build trust by creating shared expectations of what is happening and what is expected of all parties involved through a common background of customs and culture.

14. Shared cultural characteristics are defined in the context of this study on a personal level as shared values,
lifestyle, and appearance with the vendor support personnel.

15. The third mode Zucker hypothesized is institution-based trust. This mode is tied to "formal societal structures" [98, p. 53], such as certification, regulators, and independent intermediaries.

16. There are two types of institution-based modes that build trust. The first certifies people and institutions based on explicit expectations of what the certification means, such as the state license that medical doctors receive. The second type of institution-based mode creates a third-party guarantor that the transaction will be carried out properly.